Dreams, Past and Present
by 2969hrsonlostage
Summary: What happens to Alex? In the months after the Golden Sun, Alex is tormented by his actions. He doesn't know what to do, but he does know what is coming. In a world still in upheaval, can he calm his own raging sea and save the world and mean it? Definite romance coming up. See chapter four's A/N. Contains all major characters and some of the minor ones. Hope you enjoy it!
1. Chapter 1

Dreams, Past and Present

Alex sighed. He put down his cup of coffee, got up out of his chair, walking over to the somewhat dirty window of the inn, and stared through it into the distance. Looking past the desolation of what used to be a beautiful village in the mountains, he glimpsed the peak of what was once a mountain sanctuary, built to honor the sun and moon, Sol and Luna. It was still glowing with the awesome power that had bathed it just a few short months ago.

Sitting back down, he noticed his coffee was cold. Annoyed, he sent a sharp burst of power flickering through it. As he was a Mercury Adept, he had complete control over water and its many forms, but the Golden Sun had given him control of its temperature and other properties.

That didn't erase the pain though. He winced as pain flared up his back in a blazing line. The Wise One's attack may have been a bit overdone. Casting Ply, he noted wearily that, yet again, it had little effect. Draining his cup, he walked over to the innkeeper and tossed a medium-sized bag of coins on the table. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I found this inn to be very comforting," said Alex as he walked out. The innkeeper began counting the coins, and suddenly yelled, "Sir, you've overpaid me….by over a hundred coins!"

"Keep it. You need it more than I do."

In the ruins of Vale, a few hours later.

A blue-haired man walked among the rubble of the once-tranquil village. He stopped suddenly and bent down. He picked up a shining object from the dirt. It was a coin. Bouncing it deftly on his palm, he walked on. His destination was not clear, even to himself. He just felt drawn to the place of his "rebirth," as it were. He was not alone. Another blue-haired individual joined him on his walk, her cerulean robes fluttering slightly in the breeze

"Troubles, Alex? Is it your back again?" Mia asked him.

"Yes, but that's not everything." His answer came out shorter than he intended it to sound.

"Have you tried-"

"Yes, Mia, I've tried the Water! It had no effect!" Calming down, he said, "I'm sorry, I'm just tired of it all. The mental fog, the pain…but most of all, I miss sleeping through the night."

Mia started. This was new to her. "…Alex? What do you mean?"

Damn. He hadn't meant it to come out at this time.

"I-It's nothing."

Not surprisingly, she didn't believe him, and she didn't leave it alone.

"Alex, answer me. What is it?"

"…"

"Alex, answer me."

A few minutes later, Alex stood up and started walking away. Mia got up to try to follow, but as her gloved hand was about to touch his shoulder, he disappeared in a flash of light. Not for the first time was Mia annoyed by his vast array of powers.

As she made to sit back down, she noticed a steaming cup next to her. She smiled. But she was sometimes pleased by them, she reflected, as she sipped the hot cocoa.

Later

Loud explosions rocked the tiny village as Garet finished off the last of the annoying little squirrels that had terrorized Mikasalla for the last five minutes or so. He grinned, and for the heck of it, blasted a trench all the way around the village. Isaac stepped out of the inn, blearily rubbing his eyes and grumbled at Garet's newfound heroic impulses. Every town from Dalia to even Garoh had received a top of the line defense system or something since the Golden Sun rose. Madra was thrilled, since during Felix's journey they had been terrorized by pirates, the Kibombo, and possibly some other group. Dalia had asked for a seawall and had ended up with two mountains, one to the north and one to the west. Alhafra got a great little seaport (the old mayor was gone, run out of town by Briggs and his crew, amid wild cheering from the townspeople). Isaac had helped rebuild their homes, and also gave them a real seawall, not two Mount Everests. And Garoh had been thrilled to receive its gate, while Maha loved the new cave.

But Mikasalla?

Well, they needed tourists. And a lava moat would do the trick.

They also needed sleep. As Garet guessed when a shoe hit him in the side of his head.

Near Champa

Felix strode down the gangplank onto shore and headed towards the cliffside seafaring village. Briggs had sent him a messenger pigeon telling him about the Alhafra ousting, which Felix was glad to hear, but then he mentioned that the food supply had started to run a bit low. While the jewels Briggs had found were enough to last for years, as the newly elected mayor of Champa, he felt that he had to prepare for the future. The soil was still awful, and fish were still scarce, so he had asked for help.

A loud thump echoed behind Felix as Piers jumped out of the ship, crushing another Aqua Jelly that was attempting to board the craft. "My ship, my rules. Lemurians do not like monsters on their ships," Piers had said to Felix, after the first few dozen violent jellyfish slayings. Felix didn't turn around. Instead, he knelt just outside Champa, peeled off his gauntlets, and dug his hands into the dirt. "Quake," he murmured, and the ground responded. He cut off the flow of Psynergy after a few seconds, judging the soil to be loosened up enough.

Piers looked on with some interest. He had seen Felix in battle, a sight sometimes more terrifying than the monsters they were fighting, and had observed a certain tranquility absorb the Adept, but had never seen him this calm.

After a minute of small spells, Felix stood up again, brushing the dirt off his pants and hands, then fitted his gloves back on. "Your turn," he said to Piers as he headed into Champa to talk to Briggs. Piers noticed that Champa had changed a bit since he had last seen it – the cliffs were now a bit more accessible and there were more houses. Felix didn't bother with the entrance to the caves at the base of the cliffs, instead molding the stone of the cliffs into stairs that he walked up as he made them, then disappeared after he stepped off.

Piers turned back to the soil, closed his eyes and released some of his power. Opening his eyes, he marshaled the loose Psynergy into a small rainstorm that covered about an eighth of a mile square near Champa. Then he turned round and walked to the beach, wading into the surf.

The seawater was warm. Too warm, he realized. That was why the fish weren't there; the heat killed them off. This was going to take a bit of power. Summoning all the Psynergy he had, he pushed it out in the form of a massive Megacool that radiated out from the beach on the seafloor. He pushed more, making it reach as far as possible, passing the Angaran Islet, and reaching almost to the Sea of Time before he tapped out of power. He stumbled backwards as the massive loss of Psynergy took its toll, but managed to right himself. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a Psy Crystal and grasped it firmly before it disappeared. Finished, he turned around and headed towards Champa.

Inside Sol Sanctum, in the remains of the Elemental Stars chamber

A flash of light lit up the pitch darkness of the ruined chamber as Alex warped into reality once more. He let loose some of his power to light up the ruins, and surveyed the wreckage of the once-placid inner sanctum.

"Back again, Alex?"

Alex turned towards the source of the voice, startled by the presence of another being in the inaccessible cave. A huge eye, dimly lit by Alex's spell, shone in the darkness. Alex poured more power into his spell until it lit the whole chamber, revealing the Wise One.

"Must you gloat so? Have I not paid for my sins?" Alex asked softly. "My motives were impure, but my actions have saved the world. As opposed to yours, which caused the deaths of hundreds."

"You would do well to remember who you are talking to, Alex. Should I remind you?" rumbled the guardian.

"You would do well to reflect upon your own actions. If one thing had gone amiss, three lives would be gone, and three heroes would have been permanently scarred and crippled in reward for saving the world."

The chamber shook as the Wise One roared. "Do not presume to know my motives! Do not think that you can judge me! You wished to subjugate the whole of Weyard to your will! I punished you accordingly!"

"And? What purpose has it served? You say you cannot interfere in the affairs of mankind, yet you meddled with Isaac and Garet, with Saturos and Menardi, with Karst and Agatio, with Felix, Jenna, and Isaac's parents. With mine, too. I will not deny that in my case it shaped me for better, but what about theirs? Why do you not tell them the truth of what is to come if you interfere so much already?"

The Wise One's eye glinted dangerously. "You tread on ever thinner ice, Alex. Even a master of water must know to respect the dangers of his own element."

"I know respect. And I do not respect you."

And with a flash of light, he was gone.

Lalivero

The Laliverans looked on in awe as Sheba and Ivan sparred psynergetically. Ivan would call down massive thunderbolts from the sky, and Sheba would deflect them with barely a flick of her wrist. The reverse was also true. They seemed demigods to the Laliverans.

Ivan threw another bolt of plasma at Sheba. She dodged it easily, then grinned as she wreathed her hands with electricity and made a vertical slash with her palms, following her opponent's movements across the sky. A corresponding blade of pure voltage erupted from her, heading for Ivan. He tossed a small tornado out, rolling up the blade like string, then let it dissipate. They both laughed; neither could make any headway. So they descended to the earth and walked towards Faran's house.

"We've never seen anything like that! That was incredible, you two." Faran walked out of the house, congratulating them both. Since the rise of the Golden Sun, quite a few natural disasters had occurred as the world woke up and fed off the elemental energy once more. The Laliverans in particular had been badly affected – the quake from Venus's activation had left the town in shambles, and the recent disasters had been devastating. So Ivan decided to stay with Sheba in Lalivero to help ward off any storms that would plague the small town. The display of power they had just thrown off was to help with morale; many of the townsfolk were grumbling and cursing the lighting of the Lighthouses.

Since the Golden Sun rose, the Adepts had gained significant new Psynergetic capabilities. The refreshing of the planet's energy fed their own, so their abilities, already augmented by the djinn, were now nearly godlike in scope. Ivan could turn back a massive hurricane single-handedly, while Sheba focused more on land storms.

Sheba smiled. "Thank you, Father."

Ivan blushed a bit.

At that moment, a townsperson ran over and yelled out, "Sea storm! Help us! It's headed this way!"

Sheba turned to Ivan. "Shall I?"

"Be my guest," he replied.

They followed the panicked woman to the coastal cliff overlooking the Sea of Time. A massive hurricane – no, two – no…

No less than six huge storms were heading towards the mainland.

Sheba grinned. "Ah, a challenge." She shot off into the air, closely followed by Ivan. They landed on one of the newly upheaved islands off the coast and turned towards the storms.

Ivan waved his hand and one crashed into another. The two storms apparently had opposite rotations, because both fell apart. He waved at another one, and plasma blasted it apart. He smiled and turned toward Sheba but the grin quickly faded when he noticed something was wrong.

She couldn't even produce a spark.

"I-Ivan…something's wrong… I-I can't feel my Psynergy."

Ok, I've been away for quite a while. Well...I'M BACK BITCHES!...as Vegeta would say in DBZ Abridged. :) Anyway, in getting readers in China and Spain?! Wow. :) Don't forget that little review button!


	2. Abeyance

A few days later….

Ivan walked through the town to the edge of the wall. He looked out at the sea, sighed, and took off into the air. He landed on the small islet off of Angara where he and Sheba had fended off the freak storms about a week earlier.

Or, at least, Sheba had tried to.

While the apparent loss of her Psynergy was not permanent, it was frightening. She had gotten injured in the getaway from the island, as Ivan had dropped her while trying to get them both away. She had been able to summon some power to right herself. But as she slowed downwards, her speed forwards had not. She had slammed into a tree, and had been knocked out cold.

She had still not woken up. Thus Ivan's restlessness.

Gripped by a fear that he would lose her, he decided to go to Imil, to get some of the healing waters that now poured from the Lighthouse. Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice a slight drain on his power. He took off, heading towards the north.

Behind him, on the island, near where he had just stood, was a small, pulsing black and purple speck. Black lightning flashed out of it at irregular intervals.

**Imil**

The blue haired healer walked through the frozen town, which now sported an impressive set of ice walls, etched with beautiful murals. She smiled. Justin and Megan had had their latent powers awoken by the full return of Alchemy to Weyard. The ice walls had been placed there by Mia herself originally, but her two apprentices had apparently expanded upon it.

She slowed down a bit and looked at one of the murals, depicting the Mercury Lighthouse being lit. She remembered the battle atop the aerie as if it were yesterday. She recalled her despair when she realized that she had failed to keep the Lighthouse from being lit. Looking back at her worry over the lighting of the beacon, she didn't know what to think. It still evoked mixed feelings.

She continued on her way, heading towards the sanctum, but slowed again as a large usage of Psynergy caught her attention. She looked up and saw a small green speck shoot towards the Lighthouse. Concerned, she began to head towards the beacon as well.

Ivan dropped out of the air, landing near an elderly couple, startling them before they recognized him. "Ah, Ivan! It's good to see you! How are you?"

He waved them off, and they noticed the urgency in his movements. They stepped aside, and he ran to the fountain. As he filled a large flask with the healing waters, he heard footsteps behind him.

"I-Ivan? Are you okay?" Mia asked. "Where's Sheba?"

Ivan told her. Mia looked troubled. "Do you want me to come back with you to Lalivero? I'm a healer, so I might be able to help."

Ivan shook his head. "I didn't bring the Teleport Lapis with me, so I don't think you'd be able to-" His words were cut off as a sudden, blindingly bright flash of light appeared in front of the fountain. Alex stepped out of its heart, his robe slightly askew.

"Do you require any assistance, Ivan? Mia?" asked Alex.

Ivan snarled and hurled a bolt of plasma at the Water Adept. At such close range, Alex could not evade it, and was borne aloft. Ivan put such power into his attack that the Adept landed on the aerie of the Lighthouse. Ivan didn't wait for him to recover; instead, he wreathed himself in lightning and – _vanished_. Not with a flash of light like Alex's Warp, but was just gone.

With a crack, he rematerialized at the aerie, floating in midair.

"Stand up, Alex," he growled.

Unfortunately for Alex, his last impression on the majority of the Adepts was one of powermongering. The only one to know otherwise, to know the new Alex, was Mia.

Alex groaned. He hadn't expected to be so severely affected by a blast like that. He rolled over onto his knees and slowly stood up. He waved his hand, and his faculties returned to normal. He turned towards his opponent, his mood evident on his face.

"Must we quarrel so? If you intend to pursue his course of action, then let me remind you that this is the heart of my element, and I am a master of water."

Ivan grinned evilly. "Let me remind you – water conducts electricity." He threw another bolt at the Adept. Before it could reach Alex, though, a wall of ice appeared between the two of them. The bolt dug into the wall, then ricocheted off into the Mercury beacon, sizzling, then fizzed out. Both wheeled around, looking for the source of the spell. Mia flashed into view.

Both of the two fighting Adepts looked at each other, then looked back at Mia, and raised an eyebrow in unison.

Mia appeared startled by her sudden arrival at the aerie, as she began to flail to keep her balance. Alex warped to her, steadying her.  
>"That's a new trick," he remarked.<p>

"Ughh...uuugh….I think I'm going to be sick….How do you do that..?" she asked. "Practice," he answered.

"Alex." Ivan's voice was quite evidently ticked off.

"Ivan, leave him alone." Ivan raised an eyebrow at Mia's statement. "He's…he's changed from the person he was before. Just…leave him alone." And with that, she sent the contents of her stomach over the edge of the aerie. Seconds later, a faint yell of disgust and horror was heard from the fountain area of the Lighthouse.

Alex patted her on the back. "Are you ok, Mia?" He waved his hand, and the strain on her faculties disappeared. He waved it again near the edge of the aerie, and a large orb of water coalesced in the air. Closing his hand into a fist, he severed the connection to the orb, sending it downwards. A second yell wafted up from the courtyard. This time, it was a bit more surprise than anything, since it was intended to help whoever had been hit to get cleaned up.

"Care to explain what is going on, Mia? I have to go, Sheba is hurt!"

"Here." Alex walked over to Ivan with Mia and closed his eyes. "Lalivero, right?"

**Lalivero**

Faran started as a flash of light illuminated his house. At the epicenter of the flash of light stood Ivan, Mia, and one other blue haired individual. Faran squinted, then his eyes widened in realization as he recognized it to be one of Saturos and Menardi's companions, Alex. He let out a yelp, and scrambled for one of the swords that hung on the wall.

"Faran, stop! It's ok, he's here to help!" said Mia.

Alex winced as she said that; his back twinged again, and his grimace did not go unnoticed by either of the other two Adepts.

"Him? After… After what he did with those two?"

Alex stepped forward. "Faran, I apologize for the strife my actions have caused…I have learned from my past, and hope to make a better present, to help atone for my decisions…I heard that Sheba was hurt. May I?"

Faran stepped aside, though he obviously was still not pleased about having a power-hungry, near-all-powerful Mercury Adept in his house.

Alex walked to the bed where Sheba lay, still comatose. He wreathed his hand with power and ran it around her in the air. His face fell as he did so. While he could heal her, and she would be fine, he could feel the remnants of an aura that he recognized, and despaired at doing so. "Ivan, tell me exactly what happened," he said, his voice sharp.

"We were trying to turn back some storms that were about to hit the coast, and she just lost her power. When I tried to get us off the island, I dropped her, and-" Ivan was cut off as Alex wheeled around faster than any of them thought possible and barked out, "Which island? Now!" Ivan, surprised by Alex's sudden change of demeanor, said, "The Angaran Islet, over there," pointing. "Come with me," Alex said, and walked out of the house.

"Should I come too?" asked Faran. "You're welcome to, but be careful. Grab my hand. Ready?"

FLASH.

**The Angaran Islet**

Faran coughed and stumbled as they suddenly appeared on the island. "Where?" Alex demanded. Ivan pointed, then faltered as he saw a bolt of purple lightning snake out from behind a shrub. "Stay behind me. Faran, can you use Psynergy of any sort?" Faran, surprised by the question, said, "No, why?" The Water Adept replied, "Because that…that is the worst thing in the world for those who can. Look." Faran walked slowly around the shrub, and saw the source of the lightning. "Wha-what is that? It looks like – well, it looks like a hole in the world!"

"It's a Psynergy Vortex. Stay back, everyone. Mia, do you have a Psy Crystal? Good, keep it ready. Faran, if this doesn't work, I need you to get me away from the Vortex. Prolonged exposure to it will kill me. Ivan, Mia, whatever happens, STAY BACK!" Ivan looked as though he might be sick. "It makes me feel empty to look at it," he said, starting to look a bit green.

"This is what the Wise One didn't tell you… These have been popping up all over the world. They suck the elemental energy from whatever and whoever is around them. It will kill an Adept if the Adept is foolish enough to come into contact with it for a minute or so, or stays in the area for a prolonged period…This is why Sheba lost her power. It drained all of her Psynergy. Non-Adepts will experience mild nausea, but they won't die, at least nowhere near as fast as an Adept. But with the upheaval Weyard is going through, these will wreak havoc as they devour the elemental energy around them." Alex turned towards the Vortex. It pulsed, and seemed to grow larger. "If one of these were to materialize at the aerie of one of the Lighthouses, it could be disastrous…" He trailed off.

"Stay back," he repeated, walking towards the Vortex. "Alex…What are you going to do?" Mia asked. Somewhat detachedly, Alex noted a small catch in her voice.

"Just…stay back." He knelt in front of the Vortex, now the size of a small tree stump. He could feel the drain on his Psynergy. He lifted his hand up and pointed at the Vortex. Then he plunged his arm into it. His three companions each cried out in shock.

Alex didn't really register their reactions. His arm was cold, incredibly cold. He felt his power being pulled out at a prodigious rate. He almost fainted from it, but he snarled and forced himself to focus on his Psynergy. He growled, and pulled back on the power in him, until finally, the flow out of him reversed, and he began to reclaim what the Vortex had taken.

The Vortex shrank, but did not disappear.

Alex suddenly let loose all of his power at once, forcing it into the Vortex. The black hole shivered, grew, shrank, then…disappeared.

So did Alex.

Hello there! It's the author! You know, the guy who wrote this? Hello?

(cricket. cricket.)

Aw, come on…

Well, anyway, where are dem reviews?! I need to know what you guys think! I do have a problem with characterization, so…..

Hit that review button or I'll hit you!

And no spam reviews, please.


	3. Ivan's Bad Day

Darkness, and in that darkness, nothing.

Alex floated, or so it seemed, in nothing. There was no up, no down, no feeling, or smell. It was a total absence of anything. He released some of his power, and the area around him lit up.

He shivered. Drained as he was, he could not light up a very large area, but it was enough to see what – actually, _who _ – was in front of him.

"Why have you detained me? Must you constantly go after me?"

The Wise One's eye narrowed. "I warned you not to defy me. They must not know what is happening. Not yet. And now, they shall panic. Panic causes death, Alex, or had you forgotten?"

"Release me," Alex said curtly. The Wise One's eye narrowed even further. "Do you really intend to challenge me, weak as you are? Even at full strength, you could not challenge me." Alex shook his head. "I do not intend to challenge you. Not right now, and not here. However-" Alex was cut short by a Psy Crystal bonking him in the side of his head. He caught it, and looked around. A faint light hovered above him, then disappeared. He frowned, then turned back to the Wise One. "I may not have the strength to defeat you right now." He crushed the crystal in his palm, then gasped as his power rushed back to him. "But I can still let you know what I am capable of. And let you know that I am not fooled by you." He waved his palm, and a tsunami appeared, then shaped itself into a blade, slicing through the darkness and striking the rock that was the Wise One – or was it? As the blade struck, the Wise One's outline blurred, then cracked to reveal – nothing.

"You made your mistake in detaining me. Now you will stop. Leave, now," Alex said.

The area where the false guardian had been seemed to twist. Some of the darkness seemed to coalesce into a form. Then it defined itself, settling into a Psynergy Vortex, which then pulsed.

"Do not delude yourself, Alex. You cannot defeat me," said the vortex.

Alex sighed. "Drop with the guises. They do not fool me, Xela." The vortex faded away, to reveal a bright, shining corona with a shape at its heart. The corona of light faded, contracting closer to the figure, although the figure's features were still indistinguishable.

"You would do well not to delude yourself either. I expelled you. I defeated you once, I can do it again," said the Water Adept. "Maybe so, but you only did that with the help of another. I doubt you could do it by yourself," Xela grinned maliciously. He stepped out of the corona, into the darkness, face cut in half by the shadows. "In either case, you can't totally get rid of me. The ancients could only imprison me, and only temporarily. Soon, I will be free again." Alex started to show signs of irritation. "Stop with your dreams of power. The past is gone, the present shall not see you, and you shall soon not have a future."

"I think not, Ale-" The world's most evil entity was cut short by a concentrated blast of scalding water to the eyes. "AAAAGH! MY EYES! WHY THE EYES?!" Alex grinned, then warped out of limbo. Contrary to the belief of many, he did have a sense of humor.

**Weyard, Vale**

Jenna walked through the ashes of the village, to Sol Sanctum. Blasting the doors apart, she walked in. Following it all the way to the end, she arrived at the entrance to the Elemental Star room. Here she was stopped, for she could not go any further; the gateway was gone, disappeared once the last star had been removed and left the chamber. Here she sat, pondering what she had recently gone through. Her mind drifted back to the events on the aerie, after the horrible battle…

**Mars Lighthouse, Aerie**

"….Who are they?" Ivan asked. "That's what I was trying to warn you about!" Kraden said. "The Wise One knew he couldn't stop you, so he played a cruel trick instead."

"Jenna, let's go figure who these people are while they try sort this out," Sheba said. "No, Jenna! Don't look! You mustn't look! It will only bring you pain…." Kraden shouted after her. "What do you mean, Kraden? They can't hurt us anymore. We'll just-" And that was when her world collapsed.

Her mother and father, and Isaac's father, were the people laying on the beacon.

**Present **

After that, she didn't remember much, just a huge hole in the center of her heart. She had lost her parents once, along with her brother. Then her brother had shown back up, alive – hooray – but then informed her that they had to light the Lighthouses that would end up destroying Weyard through Alchemy's return, so they could see their parents again and save the world. Wait, what?

She had slapped him then, hugged him, and slapped him, then crisped him with Fume, then hugged him again till his ribs cracked. Saturos had had to literally peel her off of her brother, while Menardi tried to avoid looking at the curiously shaped burnt bald patch on Felix's head. His cape didn't get off so easily, resulting in him having to change it soon after the debacle on the Venus aerie, which left him with an old blue rag.

Later, once she had acclimated to what had happened, and what needed to happen, she began to somewhat enjoy the journey. She had found Saturos's obsession with eating airborne fowl hilarious, if tasty, and Menardi, she learned, had such control over her Psynergy that she could literally knit with fire, and then "freeze" it, so the fire held together and didn't burn. They were literally masters of Mars Psynergy, and she actually learned a lot from watching them.

A sound roused her from her memories, and she looked up. A Slime was creeping towards her, apparently trying to catch her unawares. She crisped it thoroughly with a Dragon Fume, then got up and stretched and started the trek back out of the sanctum.

**Angaran Islet**

"What just happened?" Faran was the first of them to regain their ability to speak. Mia shook her head. After the Vortex had disappeared, she had desperately thrown the Psy Crystal at where it had been. To her surprise, it had disappeared. Ivan had leapt after Alex, hoping to catch his cape (only for Sheba's sake), but had missed by inches, as he seemed to vaporize. Ivan now sported a lovely black eye from the shrub. Faran just gawped, but understandably so. The only one out of them who knew anything about the Vortexes had disappeared.

They were understandably freaked out.

Suddenly….

FLASH.

Alex warped back into being, looking somewhat disheveled, but ok.

Mia was the first to react, but in a somewhat embarrassing way. She made to go over to him, but tripped over Ivan's rod and ended up flying into Alex. Ivan grinned inwardly, but kept his face straight. He didn't need another black eye. Faran just gawped again, something which he was fast becoming an expert on doing.

"What happened? Alex? Are you ok?" Mia gabbled out, as she helped him to his feet.

"Yes, Mia, I am ok. However, Xela is not, and he is very pissed off. He…He is why I can't sleep through the night. That's what I was talking to you about in Vale…I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Alex said.

Faran and Ivan looked puzzled, but Mia frowned. "He tried the Wise One trick again?"

Alex nodded. "Shot the little terror in the eyes with scalding water. It made me feel better. Bit tired though…Ooo, that's a little…" And with that, the world's most powerful human Adept conked out.

**Lalivero**

Mia was the one who warped them back to Lalivero this time, since Ivan couldn't seem to go all freaky thunder-god again and Alex's mind was temporarily AWOL. Ivan immediately regretted not being able to do so as they all materialized in different locations, apparently due to Mia's inexperience with the technique.

He himself ended up in an old couple's house's bathroom, while the wife was in there….erm….taking care of business.

Ivan now smelled bad.

So did Faran, but Alex and Mia ended up fifty feet up above the river, splashing down with enough force to drench those within fifty or so feet thoroughly. Luckily, this included Faran and Ivan. Alex didn't even flinch; he was still out cold.

They reconvened at Faran's house, once Faran and Ivan had finished washing a bit more of the stink out of their clothes. Mia tried to rouse Alex, but to no avail. Ivan was all for trying to rouse him electrically, but Mia quickly put a damper on that once she got a look at Ivan's eyes and the mischievous glint in them.

So they sat and waited. After a day or so, Alex stirred, snorting. Ivan, jolted from the "sleep watch," as they called it, inadvertently let off a spark, shocking Alex, who, upon the contact, shrieked and jumped high enough that he hit the ceiling. Mia was not pleased or amused at all. She did not listen to Ivan's protests that it had been an accident.

Ivan now had two black eyes.

This was just not his day.

**Later**

Faran rubbed his eyes as the sun streamed into the open window. He got up, stretched, and headed to the kitchen. Much to his surprise, Sheba was there, cooking breakfast.

"When did you wake up, Sheba? Are you alright?" Faran asked, much the concerned father. Sheba smiled. "Just an hour or two ago. Alex healed me, but wouldn't say what had happened. Scared me when I woke up and saw him. I accidentally kind of electrocuted him…." She trailed off, a fainter smile lingering on her face. Faran was somewhat amused.

Alex, sitting in the other room, was not amused. While the electrical shock did not affect him too badly, it did flare his back up again. Mia was starting to get worried, but Alex waved her off. "Help Ivan," he said. "Those black eyes look painful. What happened to him for him to get two in the space of on day?" Mia told him, and he smiled that she had been so protective of him. "I appreciate your concern, Mia. You're the only one who has really ever seen anything good in me since…since then…" He trailed off.

"Well, the last thing that we knew, you were scaling Mt. Aleph to try to attain ultimate power. What else were we supposed to think? Although… I suppose we should have guessed that something was up…..I don't know if Sheba ever told you this, but… In Jupiter Lighthouse, Sheba said that she read your mind." Alex stiffened slightly. Mia continued. "She said that you were thinking, 'Even now, I want to run to Mia, to give her my aid. It seems I am weak as well. I suppose I shall have no choice but to part ways with Karst and Agatio.' I didn't know what to think of that. Felix, silent as he is, told me that you mentioned me in Alhafra. A-Alex…." She trailed off. Alex sat up in the bed and turned to her, his stiffness from earlier lessening. "What is it, Mia?" She looked up at him, eyes shimmering slightly. "I-I didn't realize… On the Mars aerie, I said I felt sick and disgusted that you were one of the Mercury Clan, because I thought you wanted to…to be a tyrant. If I had only known…." A tear ran down her face.

Clueless as he was when it came to emotions, Alex recognized the emotions in front of him. He understood them, though, and felt them in return. He got up out of the bed and sat next to her wrapping an arm around her. She sniffled a bit, and returned the favor with a hug. He stiffened, then hugged her back. "I should have known, Mia…I should have," he murmured back.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, GS community! 2969 here. Alright, so I'd like to make something a bit clearer. I do not consider Mia and Alex relatives, since I do not recall any mention of it in the game (am currently running it through again to make sure). Therefore, yes, MiAlex will be here. If they both survive. Heh heh heh heh….. And please, for Chrissakes, review. I need to know how I'm doing. Thank you, Guest, for your reviews! I can see you guys on the traffic graphs!

**Three days later, in Lemuria.**

"You go too far, Conservato," the king rumbled, eyes flashing dangerously. The water in the fountain began to vibrate. "It is the truth…Your Majesty." Conservato spat the title like it was something sour. "Do you not recall the damage Poseidon wrought on our city when he was awoken by the Mercury and Venus beacons? We lost half our city! We are still having trouble draining the old sections of the city! You do not deserve to be the king if you are so blinded to the negative effects of the Lighthouses and do not see the needs of your peop-" Conservato's ill-advised rant was cut off by a block of ice whacking him in the head. The king's hand glowed slightly from the power it had just released. His eyes flashed, then glimmered intensely from anger. Conservato knew he had gone too far, and quickly made himself scarce before the king made him extinct. Hydros sighed and sat back into his throne. Since the last Lighthouse had been lit, Conservato had been getting bolder and bolder in his insinuations and accusation

Piers had returned about two days earlier, having dropped Felix off near the Karagol Sea (the Venus Adept had simply waved a hand and an entire section of cliff turned into sand, forming a beach) beforehand, and Conservato had, quite ill-advisedly, tried to get the soldiers to put him out of Lemuria. The soldiers had turned around quite fast once Piers had started levitating slightly. Conservato, ignorant of the huge disparity of power between the two of them, had tried to enforce the exile order himself. The result was something like watching a modern-day squirt-gun-wielding Boy Scout attacking a fire truck hose.

It had taken them the better part of the two days to get Conservato off the top of the ice tower, which overtopped the palace by at least five times its height.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" Piers walked in from the roof where he had been listening. "Should I make Conservato another ice tower?" A faint smile of amusement tugged at his face. Hydros sighed. "No, leave him be for now. He's probably scurrying off to the Senate. He'll probably leave out the reason for him being whacked on the head with an ice block, but I doubt they'll listen to his story."

Piers shook his head in disgust at the slimy senator's actions. "They'll eventually stop listening to him completely. Even their patience has its limits," he said, the phrase echoing something he had said long ago in the Madran jail…..

**Madra, almost a year ago…**

"I am sorry she was injured, but I cannot-" Piers started to say, but was cut off by the angry villager. "I don't want your sympathy, freak. I want you to get angry for me!" Piers started to get annoyed. "Stop, please. Even my patience has its limits." Shin turned to his friend. "Hey, don't you want to see what he'll do?" His friend shook his head. "I think we should just stop." Piers snapped. "If my words will not cool your temper, then…" He bowed his head and summoned his power. Shin suddenly found himself atop an icy pillar that appeared out of nowhere. Surprised, he fell off of the top, facedown. His friend looked bewildered. Shin jumped up and screamed, running out of the jail. "Did you do that?" his friend asked. "What did your friend expect?" Piers replied, his eyes cold as the ice he had summoned. "You monster!" the villager yelled.

"I-I am no monster," Piers said shakily. The villager jumped. "Heeeellllllpppp!" he whooped, running out of the cell as well.

Piers released a breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding, shuddering. A group of three young travelers and one rather elderly man complaining about food entered the jail, but he paid them no mind. He reflected on his actions. _Why did I use my Psynergy in anger? I must retain control, my actions should never cause regret-_ His thoughts trailed off as he sensed something._ I…sense someone using Psynergy._ He turned around, looking, but the only people he saw were the travelers, one in front of his cell. Apart from the traveler's haunted eyes and powerful demeanor, there was little else remarkable about him, save for the honking sword on his hip._ That person – could he; no, he is not of my people. _He turned around again, facing the wall. _When will I be free?_

Lemuria

Piers had never been to a "school" ; there was no general education in Lemuria. Hydros allowed everyone to read the royal library's books. Through this, Piers had learned that Lemuria had once traded with many other countries, great civilizations on par with Lemuria. Lemuria was the last, apparently, according to a strange pair of travelers that had come to Lemuria under siege by the elements. Piers woke himself from his reverie and asked leave from the king, which was granted. He went home and went to sleep.

His sleep was fitful, but not broken.

Prox

"We thank you Isaac, for bringing back the bodies of two of our bravest warriors. You are truly an honorable fighter. Thank you, from all of us." Puelle shook Isaac's hand warmly.

"No, it is I who should thank you," Isaac replied. "I only wish I did not have to bring them back like this…. I wish that they had not died."

"It is not your fault, Isaac. If anything, Saturos and Menardi should not have been so forceful." Puelle said. Isaac shook his head. "I see now why they were so desperate. They were only doing their job…."

Puelle extended his hand. "Come, let us leave such sad thoughts." He pointed to the inn. "You are probably tired from your journey." Isaac smiled. "Thank you Puelle, for you hospitality." They both winced as they heard an all-too familiar sound for Isaac, that of Garet making an ass of himself. Explosions lit up the sky some leagues away as Garet sparred with a few of Prox's warriors, Karst and Agatio among them.

Well, at least, Karst was. Agatio was now streaking through the sky in a flaming arc towards Puelle and Isaac. Isaac sighed. "Flint, take Granite and Quartz and help Agatio out." The small group of hyperactive earth spirits shot off like arrows, catching the massive warrior and slowing his descent to a more life-conducive speed. Isaac grinned, feeling somewhat mischievous and said to Agatio (who was now rolling around in the snow to put out his cape) "Here, take these. They'll help." He sent across Flint, Granite, Flower, and Crystal. When Agatio started to ask questions, Flint gave him the quick version of the instructions on Djinn. Agatio smiled somewhat evilly as he blasted off towards the battle on a geyser of lava. "Share them!" Isaac called after him.

"What-" Puelle started to ask, but Isaac said, "Wait for it…." Seconds later, a yell came from the direction of the sparring grounds. "Isaaaaaaaaac! Not faaair! I'll get you for this!" Garet yelled. A few seconds after that, both Karst and Agatio came flying towards Isaac and Puelle, dumb grins on their faces. "We got him, Isaac!" shouted another warrior as he rocketed past on a geyser of lava. Sure enough, Garet came flying down towards them, his flaming hair actually on fire. "Isaaaac!" Garet yelled out his name before crashing into him. "Not funny!" Isaac grinned. "What, and you having a ton of djinn is?" Garet growled in response.

**Kalay, the royal palace**

"And I don't care if your sorry bunch of thugs starve, you kidnapped my husband!" Layana was yelling at a very sorry looking bunch of thugs. "Well-" started Dodonpa. Layana looked like she was about to crisp the thugs right where they stood. Suddenly, a shadow stepped out from behind a curtain and started to move menacingly towards her. Dodonpa looked stunned, then leapt at the shape, as did the rest of his gang. Seconds later, the whole of the gang was sprawled around the room, and the figure grabbed Layana, hitting her on the head to knock her out. The doors suddenly slammed open. Felix walked in, eyes ablaze. "Leave. Now." The figure shook its head. "Now see, this is why people get hurt. They try to be the hero. Even the worst thieves in history couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can, little boy?" The figure snickered. Felix waved his hands, and the earth split open. "This does." The figure stopped dead, and cursed. "Great. Just my luck, a warrior… Later, kid." The figure made to leave, but Felix waved his hand and vines grabbed the figure. "Nice try," Felix said.

The would-be kidnapper took out a knife and slashed at the vines, then faltered as Felix started towards him. "Stay back. You don't know what you're dealing with," the figure said shakily. "Hardly," said Felix. "You don't. Now, you can either jump out the window, or you can deal with me." The figure looked out the window. It was about four stories up, with a pigsty at the bottom. Then he looked at Felix, and the massive sword on his hip.

He jumped.

**Later**

"Thank you, Felix, for saving my wife from being kidnapped. Although…who was that? If it wasn't anyone affiliated with Dodonpa, then what was he doing trying to kidnap her?" Hammet was walking around the room, occasionally stepping over a groaning ex-bandit.

"I do not know," Felix said. "Luckily, he can't go too far, not with a sprained ankle. I'll send Dodonpa and co to track him down, once they wake up. With proper equipment, I'm sure they'll be more than a match for a wounded kidnapper. I'll pay for their equipment, of course." He knelt by the thugs, one by one, and as he did so, put a hand on their shoulder, and a golden light emanated from his hand.

Dodonpa was the last to be revived. Immediately, he jumped up, somehow producing a knife (the security guards had frisked him and his gang), and started bellowing, "Where is he? Where is he? I'll kill him!" Felix and Hammet looked at each other in confusion.

Hammet asked, "Do you know him, Dodonpa?" The ex-thief nodded in assent. "Yeah, he used to work for me. When I decided to fix my game, he broke off, but not before he stole most of our money and burned our food and gear wagons. His name's Brendan."

Hammet raised an eyebrow. "So you've….straightened up?" Dodonpa sighed. "Why does no one believe me?"

**Kalay Marketplace**

"Will that be all, sir?" The weapons shop owner was slightly nervous at selling so many weapons to a former thief, as was the armor shop owner at selling armor. "Yes, thank you." Felix tossed a huge bag of coins on the store owner's countertop, large enough to bend the plank. "Keep the change."

As the group walked out of Kalay, Felix turned towards Dodonpa. "Don't kill him, just bring him back to face justice. No bodily harm, either. We clear on that?" Dodonpa nodded. "We'll be back in a few hours. He was never good at covering his tracks."

Felix fell back as the group walked out of Kalay, looking for all the world like the fictional Forty Thieves.

**Lalivero**

"Alex, are you ok?" Sheba laid a hand on his shoulder, and he jolted awake from his dreams, not knowing that he was seeing what was actually happening leagues and leagues away. He winced as his back flared up yet again. "Yes, I am ok, Sheba. My back is just acting up again…" She frowned. "Are you sure there's nothing that can be done?" Alex shook his head. "No Sheba… there isn't."

**Somewhere between worlds**

A figure floated in darkness, face shrouded in shadows. Alex's voice drifted across the void to him, and he grinned malevolently. "No, Alex…you are not alright. Hehehe…there is something that can be done, but a weakling such as yourself could never do it. Without me, you're nothing." His face suddenly flashed with internal light, a perfect copy of Alex's, save for the cruel eyes and the evil smile.

Author's Note: I should have made it a bit clearer before, but Alex's back is (initially) a result of the Wise One smashing him into Mt. Aleph. The continued pain is a result of another entity (not Xela). I am trying to put the Warriors of Vale across Weyard, so that it can be seen where they go in Dark Dawn, and why they are so well known. This will extend into Dark Dawn. Sorry for those of you who hate it…. Level 99 in less than 40 hours.

And thank you Guest for your continued support!

If the chapters aren't up on a regular basis, send me angry PM's. Writing fanfiction is much more important than my long term success in college….wait, what? ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Mia sighed as she sat in Faran's house, looking out the window. Alex had left three days ago, and she missed him. Not that she would tell anyone, considering the circumstances… Considering what had happened atop the lighthouses, and how severely he had betrayed them, she didn't think that anyone would understand.

It had hurt her to the core when he had left. She had grown quite fond of the boy who had been her father's apprentice, and had looked forward to working with him to protect the lighthouse. Then, suddenly, one day, he was gone. She woke up, and the bed across from hers was empty. He had left with a strange set of individuals, a man with scales on his arms and the regal air of a prince (and, according to the innkeeper, a rather strange fondness for cooked pigeons), a woman wielding a scythe with long blonde hair, and a teenager with the most haunted eyes and demeanor that anyone had ever seen. The auras of the strangers had been… powerful, to say the least. The boy had walked like the very weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Alex had seemed drawn to them soon after they arrived. They had, at first, seemed somewhat annoyed by his presence, then, suddenly, they let him into their party.

Soon after that, the group left.

Lost as she was in her thoughts, she didn't sense Sheba behind her, using her Psynergy to read her mind. Sheba was startled, to say the least by the healer's mixed feelings towards Alex. She left without a sound.

**Somewhere near Prox, one year after the Boulder**

"No, Alex, you have to slide to avoid the blow, not use your Psynergy! You'll run out eventually, idiot!" Saturos exclaimed angrily at the young Mercury Adept in front of him. Alex frowned. "My clan has never relied on brute force. We focused on honing our Psynergy, as opposed, apparently, to yours. I suppose fire and water truly are opposites." Saturos growled with anger. "We focus on both. Our environment demands it of us. But if you wish to test yourself against me, then you shall have your wish granted!" Alex was suddenly airborne on a geyser of lava. Surprised, he quelled it with an answering geyser of water. Saturos waved, and a multitude of fiery orbs appeared in the air. Alex dodged a good deal of them, quenched about twenty, then stumbled as a few caught him in the back. Saturos didn't wait for him to recover, instead leaping at the dazed Alex. Suddenly, the Mercury Adept dodged out of the way, rolling away from Saturos and firing off several blasts of water at the larger Adept. They caught him squarely in the chest, knocking him back several yards. He landed in a crouched position, then sprinted back towards Alex. Alex tugged on the higher reaches of his power and let loose with a massive wave of water that drenched the both of them. Saturos stumbled, then pushed on, though he was obviously somewhat drained. Alex continued to pelt him with blasts of water, but as his Psynergy dwindled, so did the power of his attacks. Finally, he ran out of power, while his opponent appeared little the worse for wear. Alex dropped to the ground, panting.

"See what I mean, Alex? If you wish to travel with us, you must learn to fight, or become drastically stronger. Otherwise, you need to leave and go back to Imil." Saturos turned around and headed back to the village, leaving Alex in the snow.

One week later, Alex walked into the shop in Prox. He plunked down a large bag of coins on the counter and bought a rapier, a helmet, an odd green robe, and a few nuts and four psy crystals. He started to head out of the village, but was stopped by Saturos, who handed him a pair of gauntlets. "You might want to use these," said the Mars Adept. Alex nodded and continued walking out of the village, soon disappearing from sight behind the blizzard.

_In Imil, there is an old cautionary tale, a legend, actually. It tells of a near-all powerful Adept that lived long ago, before Alchemy was sealed away. This Adept had complete mastery of all elements, not just one. He soon became a tyrant, seeking power above all else. The sages of the time knew what had given him such great power – he had inherited the power of all the elements, in an event similar to the Golden Sun. They had to do something. So they did the impossible, the unthinkable. To sever his connection to his power, they sealed away Alchemy itself, and thus saved the world from tyranny. Or so they thought. While the sealing of Alchemy weakened him severely, he was still exceedingly powerful. And yet, somehow, they managed to seal away the Adept, binding him in a small cave that was to be forgotten to time, never to be found, somewhere in the frozen wastelands of northern Weyard. But such was the Adept's power that he was able to still reach out to the minds of those who were around him, and even further. In time, the story says, the Adept became little more than a bodiless mind, but one still powerful in many ways. It was said that the Adept was still alive, but trapped in that cave. _

Trouble was, this legend was true, and the Adept had reached out to Alex's mind, influencing him to go with Saturos, Menardi, and the young teenager.

Alex pushed his way through the wilderness, seeking monsters to fight. Already he had defeated several ostrich-like creatures with oddly colored plumage and a few blue-furred goblins. The robe he wore healed him and refreshed his Psynergy, but did nothing for his weapons and other armors, and certainly did nothing to help him retrieve his rapier when one of the bird creatures pecked it out of his hands. This meant that he had to rely on his Psynergy to defeat the monsters.

As he forged onwards, he noticed that the monsters were thinning out. He hadn't seen a single monster for the past ten minutes, and thought that this was odd, considering that they infested the lower regions of the Lighthouse and the area around the village. He shrugged off the oddity for later investigation and continued to go towards the mountains, hoping to find more monsters there.

As he neared the mountains, he noticed an area that seemed to be a collapsed cave front. Curious, he blasted at it with his Psynergy, but it had no effect. He put a little more force into the attack, and the lower portion suddenly crumbled inwards, revealing a tunnel. He ducked into it, lighting it up by releasing unorganized Psynergy.

The farther he went down the tunnel, the wetter the floor became. He noticed that there was a slight decline, so the water should have run downwards, but it didn't. Oddly enough, in fact, it got deeper, almost seeming as if it was trying to get out. He raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't stop to examine it. He turned a corner and suddenly fell a bit as the floor beneath him dropped off into a pit quite abruptly. He picked himself up and brushed off the dust. Strangely, the pit was totally dry.

In the center of the pit, there was a column, with a clear stone on top of it. He peered at it, but could not see anything in it. He tapped it with his finger, eliciting a single, piercing note. Suddenly, a voice emanated from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "So, Alex, you have come." The voice chuckled. It spoke in a very deep, rich vibrato, but was tinged with a slight undertone of anger. "I knew one would eventually find me, but I never expected that it would be a descendant of one of those who imprisoned me so wrongly." The stone flashed brightly and suddenly liquefied, dripping upwards in the air, forming a face, a crude copy of Alex's. "What do you say, Alex? A descendant of the tottering, ignorant sages of old to fix their mistake? Come, release me, and we shall reignite the flames of Alchemy, as they should be." Alex frowned, then muttered a series of rapid curses. "Who are you?" he asked. "I have no name anymore, I have been imprisoned so long." Alex reached out and tapped the face, the stone just as unyielding as it had been a second ago. "How do I release you?" he queried, curious to meet the strange Adept. "I shall siphon a bit of Psynergy, Alex, with your permission, of course," the voice said, chuckling again. Alex suddenly felt a drain on his power as the strange Adept pulled on it. With a flash, the stone disappeared, leaving – nothing.

"Oh, crap," said the voice. "I don't have a body anymore. Too long, I suppose." Alex frowned. "So what now?" The voice seemed hesitant now. "I do not know. Perhaps with time, I could figure it out, but time is something I no longer have. Without a body, I shall not survive for long."

"Perhaps you could share mine? I assume that that is possible, then, considering you were able to inhabit a stone," offered Alex. The voice seemed to pause again, then said, "That is very risky… However, I do not have any other options at the moment, so I must." Alex felt a blast of wind, then gasped as he seemed to freeze when the air around him dropped drastically in temperature. He gasped again when he felt a drastic infusion of power, apparently from the Adept. He blinked twice, slowly, expecting some sort of voice in his head from the Adept, but found none. What he did find, however, were the Adept's memories, and they shocked him, as he did not understand just who this person was.

Suddenly, his head exploded in pain for a split second, but was still severe enough to bring the Adept to his knees, cradling his throbbing head. When it stopped throbbing, he rose, slowly, frowning. Whatever he had been thinking about, he could not remember. He shook his head and started out of the cave, not really remembering why he had been in there.

Luckily for Alex, the gauntlets Saturos had given him weren't just gloves. They had been imbued with a sort of protective spell, one meant to tie an Adept to their body. It was a protection against warriors having their spirits drained by necromantic enemies. What the Adept had been trying to do would have forced Alex out of his own body, although, for once, this bit of harm was not one that the legendary Adept would have wanted to happen. One gets lonely after millennia in a tiny cave. Unfortunately, the gloves' spell also backfired, in a way. As the Adept attempted to enter Alex's body, Alex's soul started to exit. Bound by the spell, it only went so far. As the Adept's mind entered, it was forced to merge with Alex's.

Effectively, Alex was no longer Alex, and neither was the Adept what or who he had once been.

A/N: Ok, NOW you know where Xela came from! Ooooh, and I am sooo going to get sued….. DISCLAIMER: This author makes no claim of ownership upon Golden Sun: The Broken Seal, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, or Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, nor does the author make any claim on any sort of ownership upon Camelot or Nintendo. The author does not own stock in either of these companies, and does not stand to gain anything of any monetary value from the publication of this fanfic or the nonpublication of it. The author has not been paid to write this fanfic, is not being paid to write it, and will not in some future event be paid for writing it, in any format, whether monetary or through the gifting of valuable items or some such thing (s), unless the owners of Nintendo and Camelot should see fit to do so. The author is not in any way affiliated with Camelot or Nintendo; however, in the possible future event of any such affiliation, any and all rights that the author may have to this fanfic, whether the author is aware of such rights or not, shall immediately transfer over to Camelot or Nintendo should they wish to take said fanfic and publish it as their own. The said entities can do so for profit, for recreational usage, or any such usage without any sort of claim of theft, plagiarism, or any legal charge being leveled by the author. The author shall not ask for or sue for or otherwise attempt to attain compensation for said possible usage, through the author's own avenues or by proxy through a second, third, or etc. party, and will only accept said possible compensation if it is offered freely by said companies. The author will sue whoever tries to sue Nintendo and/or Camelot to pay the author of this fanfic, should Nintendo and/or Camelot wish for the author to do so.

The author is not a lawyer, nor is the author affiliated with a lawyer or lawyers, to the best of the author's knowledge. The author did not hire a lawyer to write this for him. The author is not going to school to be a lawyer, nor did the author check out a "Legal Talk For Dummies" from a library or purchase one, nor did the author do so with any similarly topicced book or resource

Ok, now that that's over, I will not be introducing the third mysterious entity that affects Alex's back. That is a bit too much to juggle; three superpowerful people are enough to build this story up. Please don't forget to review!

On a more serious note, seriously, please do review. I am partly writing this as an exercise in my writing skills, but otherwise it is for enjoyment. I would appreciate the advice! And any typos aren't my fault; my laptop's keyboard is finicky – some keys do not register that they have been pressed. I have to bang the keys sometimes. :/


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again, GS community! Back with another chapter and another disclaimer. But before that, it's Hall Of SHAME time. If you don't have the guts to insult review and be logged in as yourself on this site, or at least leave a name or email address, then don't do it at all. Take a look people. Chapter two, some nutter left a text-based hand flipping the bird. Copy and paste it into a Word doc, should show up. I knew what it was because I've seen stuff like that before. Immature. I will not delete it, simply because I believe in free speech, but for future reference, flames are to be directed in the form of actual reviews telling me what you do not like. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: Don't sue me, Nintendo and Camelot. All my story are belong to you.

Author's Note: In a chapter or two, I will be skipping ahead a few years in the game timeline. This is to help bring the story more together. Don't worry; the story won't leave any of the present situations unresolved, besides Xela and Alex's back. (Secondary note: Xela is pronounced Zehl-uh)

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions, questions or concerns and you can't PM me, email me! I was told by a friend of mine that they couldn't PM me, so here are some email addresses you can reach me at! goldxsen  or jckocian .

**Somewhere in Angara, one day before**

Alex trudged though the wilderness, heading towards Kalay. Annoyed by the lack of a bridge or some sort of convenient passage across the Karagol Sea, he had raised the landlocked sea's floor into a land bridge, using strong ocean currents. He didn't warp to Kalay because he did not wish to cross the world between worlds at the moment. On especially long distances between warp points, he would have to enter Xela's realm, and he didn't want to deal with the little bugger.

So he walked.

Along the way, he was joined by a large group of other travelers, soon after he crossed the Karagol, apparently attracted by the evident safety that they would enjoy while near him. As they made their way towards Kalay, Alex cut trees down and blasted them away to form a trail, since there was no apparent one. On the plains, he blasted the ground to clearly indicate the pathway. Monsters were given a blast of water so strong it shot them clear out of sight. Although his powers clearly unnerved the travelers, they did not say anything, for fear that he would leave them behind. They needn't have worried, though, because he enjoyed helping them.

As they neared Kalay, some of the travelers branched off, heading towards Vault or Lunpa, being brave enough to do so because a small brigade of ex-bandits had been annihilating the local monsters. Since Dodonpa's expulsion from Lunpa, it had become a hub of trade, with the occasional theft being reported (usually when an old man was walking around nearby, but no one ever suspected him.). The rest stayed close to Alex, still fearful of the remaining monsters.

Once they reached Kalay, the group broke up into those that headed for the stores, the inn, and the bars. As Alex walked into Kalay, he winced somewhat at the sudden, jarring rush of sound that assaulted his ears. He pushed his way through some vendors who were haggling with a customer over the price of their armor, and headed for the palace. He waited as the guards announced his arrival, patiently at first, but as the minutes stretched into almost two hours, he got bored and began to hover around the palace, unnerving the soldiers at the doors. Finally the doors opened, but rather than a servant, it was Felix who came out, eyes casting about for a few seconds before locating Alex (who was now perched in an apple tree). With a war cry, he launched himself into the air, pulling the Sol Blade from its scabbard on his hip.

Alex was taken aback, not the least reason being that his dreams two days previous had indicated that Felix was there.

"Felix, please stop. Even you cannot defeat me, and it is neither the time nor the place to start trying to do so. We have bigger fish to fry, as the saying goes." Felix ignored him and pressed his attack, still airborne. Alex sighed. "Felix, stop. Now! I will have to warp Mia here to explain it all, and I don't want to do that right now!" Felix grunted in response. "Shut up Alex, and stop playing games." His sword cleaved downwards towards Alex, who suddenly wasn't there. Felix whirled around, casting about for the telltale flash of blue. Instead, he saw a purple flash. Apparently Ivan had mastered the freaky thunder-god technique.

Felix didn't even blink; nothing surprised him these days. But behind Ivan, Alex suddenly warped back into being. Felix pointed. "Care to help, Ivan?" Ivan turned. "Felix, hang on. It's ok, he's rectified himself….we think. He helped save Sheba." Felix eyed Alex warily, then sheathed his sword. "Fine. What's going on, then?"

"Before that….Felix, did Dodonpa come here about two days ago?" Alex asked the question out of a sudden desire to quell a thought he had. Felix gave Alex a quizzical look, then nodded. Alex frowned. "I assume that someone …Brendan?...tried to kidnap the lady of the city…Lady Layana, correct?" Ivan was shocked, not the least reason being that farseeing was the sole province of Jupiter Adepts. Felix was more than just shocked. For the first time in a very long time, his emotions played across his face. "How did you know, Alex?" he asked. "I-I don't know, Felix. I saw it two days ago, in a dream…" Suddenly the Mercury Adept was struck by a severe pain that flared up his back as if someone had just laid his back open with a sword. He collapsed, groaning and grabbing his back. Alarmed, Ivan and Felix ran to him, but could not get him to say anything coherent. Alex was slipping into the past.

**Ancient Vale, c. 3850 B.G.S. (Before the Golden Sun)**

The small group of Adepts wound their way up the hills to the base of the volcano known as Mount Aleph, squinting to see through the fast fading day. At the base, they stopped, and the blue-haired adept known as Alexander turned to face them. "My friends," he said. "What I say, I say with full knowledge of what my words mean for the world. We cannot deal with the tyrant anymore." Several voices murmured agreement. "We have essayed every possible contrivance against him, and only have succeeded in losing many of our bravest warriors.

"But there remains one thing that we can do. And I can guarantee that most of you will not like it. But I ask you to trust me, and give the idea a chance.

"We all know the legend of Mount Aleph. That it was the first thing that the gods created when they made Weyard. As a result it held the most of their power." He turned to the mountain, pointing. "The tyrant found it, and took it. The hole is still there." Indeed, the door-sized hole bored into the mountain was still perfectly shaped, the edges sharp as ever. "Since then, he has done nothing but cause misery."

He turned again, facing those assembled. "Consider yourselves all sworn to secrecy, for if any word of this reaches the tyrant, he will stop us."

**Ancient Imil, c. 3840 B.G.S. **

"Pull! Pull! Pull!" The crews of workers were struggling to haul the pallets of blue bricks up to the top of the growing tower. Alexander dodged a brick that shook loose from one of the pallets of stones. Since that night at the base of Mount Aleph, construction had begun on each of the Lighthouses. Rather than fully, permanently seal away Alchemy, the idea he had proposed had evolved into one of waiting until the world was fully ready. He chuckled humorlessly, the memory of old Braeson pointing out loophole after loophole and finally stalking off in a huff giving him some consternation. Braeson always was a heavy drinker, and a talkative drunk at that.

He started up the tower, occasionally helping a group of workers fill a pool, or haul some more bricks up. Finally, though, he reached the top, and he stood near the edge of the scaffolding to see below him. They were almost done with Mercury Lighthouse, the puzzles meant to stop any interference from the tyrant almost complete. But now, he had a task to complete. He pulled a clear and hollow diamond sphere from his pocket, rolling it in his hand. His comrade Landen, the Alchemy sage of their little band, joined him after a few minutes.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Alexander?" he asked. Alexander nodded. "We must, for if we do not, he will prevail." Both were distracted by a flash of light near the edge of the aerie. They both gasped in shock as the light cleared, revealing the Wise One.

"Wise One!" Both men knelt in reverence. "Why have you graced us with your presence?" The Wise One floated closer to them. "I simply wish to make sure that you know what you are doing, brave Adepts." The guardian turned towards Alexander. "If you do…Alexander, I foresee great pain in your future if this Lighthouse is used to seal away Mercury."

**Near Ancient Lalivero, c. 3838 B.G.S**

"And just what do you want us to do about it? It's not our fault that you can't build a silly house." The worker turned away from the family of four to go back to work

Alexander saw this and walked over to him, boxing his ears. "You don't help them, you're no better than the enemy. Remember that." The worker nodded and turned back towards the family, talking with them about the floor plan. Alexander smiled and headed back towards the foundations of the Venus Lighthouse. Due to the loose nature of the ground around the area that the Lighthouse was on, they had had to make a backup entrance several miles away, in the town of Lalivero. This caused a lot of grumbling among the workers, but they did it.

Suddenly, he heard yelling at the base of the Lighthouse. Running towards the source of the yelling, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The tyrant was destroying the Lighthouse.

Alexander felt fear claw its way into his heart. What now? he thought. A low rumbling near the coast answered his question.

Poseidon floated in the water, trident at the ready. Snarling, he bellowed, "**You will not hurt them, evil one! I shall not let you!"** Alexander gawked, considering the fact that Poseidon rarely deigned to even leave his post at the front of Lemuria. The sudden increase in exertion of energy must have attracted him.

The tyrant glowed, and a burst of energy shot to catch the sea god in the chest, or so it seemed. The god bent a bit, then responded by swatting the tyrant like a fly, making him crash through three mountains. "**Go, humans. I shall hold him off. Do not worry," **the ancient god rumbled. "Get to work, you nuts! Hurry!" yelled the foreman.

Due to the tyrant's attack, the security system in the front of the Lighthouse failed, and would not turn off, shocking anyone who tried to pass. They ended up having to make the backup entrance the actual entrance. Poseidon and the tyrant went after it for a week while they built.

CRASH. The tyrant was literally six feet under.

BOOM. The tyrant sent another (useless) bolt of energy at the sea god.

After a while, the tyrant realized that he could not defeat the sea god, that he was invincible. So he left, to the surprise of the sages.

A week later, Alexander received the news that his wife had died in a surprise attack on Imil.


	7. Chapter 7

Here's the latest installment of Dreams, Past and Present! Oh, and I am considering making a supporter for the tale of ancient Weyard that I am starting in here. Maybe it could span the whole "_Ages ago, or so the stories tell…" _thing. You know, explain what was happening back then. These cuts in Alex's viewpoint are meant to illustrate the effects of Xela on Alex's mind. (Xela only took that name since he was a "reflection" of Alex.

A/N: If anything seems out of place in the stories, please let me know. I lost a good deal of my prewriting on D.P.P due to a glitchy computer. (It froze up, and while I'm clicking like a madman to get it to unfreeze, it recorded all the clicks. I'm still finding parts of Chapter 8's plotline in my WRIT 1302 documents. A fellow student pointed this out when we were doing peer reviews – I had "Alex" this and that, and "**B.G.S." ** in the middle of my paper. Red face)

But on with the story!

**Kalay, Present**

Felix and Ivan looked at the unresponsive Mercury Adept, who was now lying in a bed, still groaning and muttering incomprehensible words. "How long do you think he'll be like this, Ivan?" the Venus Adept asked. "I'm not sure… Apparently, his back has been troubling him for quite some time, ever since the Wise One…shall we say, intervened on Mount Aleph. According to Mia, his actions were not completely his own to command when he was traveling with you, Saturos and Menardi. Some entity named Xela… Supposedly, the Wise One intervened and helped Alex banish him from his body on Mount Aleph, but the 'little terror,' as Alex put it, is still causing trouble. Have you seen any little purple and black holes in the air that make you feel sick? That's Xela manifesting his powers in the corporeal world." Felix nodded. "There was one over by where Champa is. I buried it in a mountain, since it drained my power." Ivan shook his head. "Blue-hair here can apparently get rid of them, but it drains him quite a bit to do so. I hope he wakes up soon, so we can ask him what is going on."

Suddenly, Alex shot bolt upright in the bed, screaming, "No!" and a name that was muttered too fast for them to hear. Both Ivan and Felix looked at each other and tried to rouse the Adept from the screaming fit, but he just gazed through them with unseeing eyes, now doused with tears. He fell back into the cushions, still sobbing.

**Ancient Prox, c. 3800 B.G.S. **

"I don't care what you say, Alexander, I say that it is suicide to seal away the elements! The world will die! He can't live forever!" Anserra stopped to take a breath. The man he had been yelling at, Alexander, took it as an invitation to talk, and did so. "He is far too powerful, Anserra. And have you not noticed that the more powerful the Adept, the longer their lifespan? He could live for centuries, even millennia, with his mastery of the elements. Truly, do you believe that we can beat him otherwise? Construction has already progressed way too far to stop on the Lighthouses, and Sol Sanctum has already been finished! We have already sealed away Mercury, and are close on Venus." Conserra threw an inkwell at Alexander, beaning him on the head. Ink exploded everywhere, splashing across the Mercury Adept's clothes.

Alexander regarded the fiery non-Adept across from him. "When you have collected your senses, Conserra, you will see that this was the only option," he said coldly, beginning to walk out of the town hall. He pulled a small blue jewel from his pocket, rolling it in his palm. "We must be rid of the tyranny." He turned around again, his eyes bright with tears. "Don't you understand? How traumatic it was to feel my element die? To feel my connection to the world just disappear? Even now, I want to scale Mercury, to relight my connection to the world. But I cannot, no matter how painful it is. I cannot think of myself. I cannot even bring a cloud to bear anymore, Conserra. I can barely even make water anymore. I-I lost my wife because of this. Our enemy destroyed nearly half of Imil, and she was in that half…" He turned again, the tears streaming from his face as he ducked out of the doorway. "I tell you this because you don't understand that I know what this means. Perhaps when the world is ready again, Alchemy can return. When they are more ready to use it for good, when they are wiser than we."

**Ancient Lemuria, c. 3770 B.G.S.**

"Are you sure you wish to seal off the last of Weyard's connection to Alchemy? For the world will decay, Alexander, and you do know that." The ancient king looked at the young Mercury Adept before him. "With all due respect, Majesty, it is all that can be done. We must end the fear that he has put in us." Suddenly, the palace rumbled. "Aaah…there goes Poseidon again. Something has happened to him since you sealed off Mercury, since he returned from the fight. He has been somewhat…off." As a soldier staggered in, blood seeping from a cut on his forehead, the king added, "More than somewhat…We shall have a Jupiter Adept deal with him. Perhaps when the world reawakens he will be as he was before."

Alexander shifted uncomfortably. "Majesty…In order to make certain that a tyrant will not come again, we must hide the truth of Alchemy. I-I know that this will be hard, but the world must reach a point where the sages relearn that Alchemy shall be used for good. When they learn this themselves, then they will be ready." The king nodded gravely. "I do see what you mean, Alexander. But to seal such a thing away is harder than you think. My own sages will take this very hard. Knowledge is power, and knowledge such as that will be a powerful piece to hold as the world changes. And how are we to eradicate all such knowledge? Surely there will be some scraps left in the farthest flung corners of the world." Alexander frowned, but did not say anything. "Alexander, are you alright? You have not been yourself during this visit." Alexander shook his head. "I have a lot on my mind, Your Majesty, that is all. I thank you for your concern, though."

**Somewhere north of Ancient Prox, c. 3769 B.G.S.**

The short procession of Adepts pushed their way through the sandy, wet blizzard. Since the sealing of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter, the perpetual light winter that had enshrouded the town of Prox had become a nuthouse of weather, with the town being buried under snow one minute and flooded the next, then seconds later having to dig itself out from underneath tons of sand. As the skeins of Alchemy stretched across Weyard snapped and were consumed by the planet, the conditions on the land became nearly inhospitable. Once Mars was sealed, however, the weather was expected to return to some form of normalcy.

The leader of Prox took the lead as they approached the base of the Mars Lighthouse, newly made and gleaming. He turned and addressed his warriors, asking them to come with him to the side. They did so, and appeared shocked at his words. Without a single one stopping to think, they encircled Alexander, Psynergies at the ready. Alexander was surprised, but less so when he saw the elder pointing.

Their enemy was apparently aware of their scheme in full, and was marching through the snowy sand to stop them. Alexander wondered why he hadn't sensed it, but the Adept in the blizzard was bringing to bear massive amounts of power to attack them.

"Go, Alexander. Run! It must be sealed!" the elder bellowed. "Go! We shall hold him off!" Alexander nodded and summoned all the power he could bring up and winked out of existence.

He reappeared at the top of the Lighthouse, stumbling, then falling over as the loss of power took its toll. His Psynergy had grown even weaker since a year ago, when he had Warped to Lemuria to talk to the king, and now he could barely stand. But stand he did, and hobbled over to the beacon, pulling out a clear ball from his pocket. He thrust his hand into the crackling sphere of Mars and shut his eyes as the Mars Star absorbed the beacon of Mars.

With a flash, it was done.

Loud yells from the base of the Lighthouse caught his attention as he tried to stumble to the elevators, only realizing as he heard the yells that they wouldn't work. He reached into his pocket and touched the other three gems there, their power refreshing and invigorating him. He grunted and flashed out of existence.

At the base, a grisly scene awaited him. Two of the warriors had been slain, very messily. One was missing his head, the other had limbs scattered across the sand. The remaining warriors were in bad shape as well, but still alive. The elder was untouched, surprisingly, and was holding his own with the tyrant, who, surprisingly enough, was no longer totally in control of all the elements, reverting mainly back to Mercury, though occasionally he would shoot out a spire of earth or retaliate with a blast of fire.

The old man still took it all in stride, batting away the water blasts like golf balls with his cane. He would then raise his hands and blast the enemy Adept with a massive Searing Beam.

Eventually, though, something went wrong.

As the elder prepared for another blast, a Wargold ran up behind him and hit him in the back. The old man went down, apparently with a broken rib or two. The enemy Adept took the chance to hit him with a blast of water, launching him over the Lighthouse.

This left Alexander alone, with a few wounded Proxian warriors.

Grimly he picked up a sword that had belonged to one of the late warriors. His opponent mirrored his actions, grinning malevolently the whole while. Alexander did not like his chances of winning, despite his proficiency with the sword and the spell. One of the warriors limped over to him and pressed some objects into his palm, before nearly falling into the sand – now covered in snow – and starting to dress his wounds. Alexander crushed a Psy Crystal given to him by the warrior, and pocketed the other items. Muttering under his breath, he started a complicated spell that would transport the Elemental Stars to Vale. Light flashed from his pockets as the Stars disappeared. The Mercury Star was still there, though, when the tyrant stopped before him. Alexander had to stop, for the spell needed the name of the destination to be said. The tyrant bared his teeth, growling. For the first time in a long time, the tyrant spoke to Alexander. "So, we have met again as enemies. A pity, really. We could have ruled side by side, old friend. Instead I find you ruining Weyard to beat me. No matter, though. I shall win in the end." With that, he leapt at Alexander, who warped out of sight, grasping the Mercury Star to give him strength. "Ahhh, naughty naughty, Alexander….No cheating!" The tyrant whirled around, casting his eyes about for the other Adept.

FSSHT. Alexander materialized right where he had left and knocked the tyrant as hard as he could with the butt of his sword. The tyrant stumbled backwards and shot an errant bolt of lightning at his opponent, who dodged easily. "Stop, now. I have nothing to lose. I will beat you, if I must give my life doing so," Alexander said. "Ah, come now, is that any way to treat your baby brother?" The tyrant looked up and grinned evilly. "Is it?"


End file.
